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Sound Engineering and Music Production BSc(Hons)

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    Overview

    If you are planning a career in sound engineering and music production, this course has been designed to help you develop the practical skills and knowledge to help you succeed in this exciting and evolving industry.

    The course has a clear focus on music production and combines a broad mix of modules from technical to creative. The topics you'll cover aim to give you skills in advanced music and live sound production, mixing and mastering techniques, immersive audio skills, critical listening and production analyses, game audio, and sound for film and media.

    Why study Sound Engineering and Music Production BSc(Hons) at Huddersfield?

    You will gain hands-on experience using professional software and equipment, including:

    • Five fully equipped Pro Tools recording and mixing studios,
    • Four SSL mixing and recording consoles and a 48-channel analogue Audient console,
    • Industry standard outboard compressors and equalizers,
    • Plugins from UAD, Plugin Alliance and FabFilter,
    • Seven additional Pro Tools studios, including an immersive audio mixing studio and a mastering studio,
    • Live sound facilities including Avid and Midas consoles featuring Dante audio networking.

    We supplement our teaching with guest lectures and masterclasses from professional music producers, equipment designers and media producers. In recent years, we have welcomed producer Tony Platt (AC/CD, Bob Marley, Iron Maiden, Paul McCartney) and live sound engineer Jon Burton (The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead) to campus, among many others. We awarded an Honorary Degree to award-winning mix engineer Andrew Scheps, who is also a visiting professor at our department.

    During your studies, you will be supported by tutors, many of whom are experienced industry professionals. Our Music Technology department is active in research, helping to ensure you'll learn from academics at the forefront of their specialist area. Many academic staff members are associated with the Society of Music Production and Research (SMPR) and the Audio Engineering Society (AES). This ensures that your learning is supported by cutting edge leading research.

    Graduates from our music production courses have gone on to work in studios such as Angel Studios and The Chairworks, and been nominated for Grammy awards for their work on productions by pop stars such as Adele.

    Entry requirements

    BBB-BCC at A Level .

    120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

    Merit in T Level .

    DMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

    • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
    • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

    Entry is also possible from the Engineering Foundation Year. To progress onto this course from the Foundation Year you must pass all modules and achieve an average mark of 40% or above.

    In addition you must have GCSE Maths at grade 4 or above, or grade C or above if awarded under the previous GCSE grading scheme.

    Practical and theory music grades are not accepted in the total points.

    If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

    Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

    If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Music and Performing Arts Foundation Pathway Degree.

    Course Detail

    Core modules:

    Desktop Music Production 1

    This module will introduce you to relevant techniques and technologies for computer-based music production, including sequencing, sampling, arrangement, and a variety of other sound processing techniques. A range of practical work - both technical and creative - will develop your critical listening and production skills, and seminars will support you in applying these techniques to your own creative work.

    Studio Engineering and Mixing Essentials

    You will be introduced to the core concepts, theory and practical principles involved in producing, engineering and mixing popular music. You will gain practical experience in an analogue/digital recording studio, developing your ability to record and overdub a variety of sources. For the mix stage of the production process, you will then review the fundamental approaches and techniques involved in effectively processing these signals.

    Audio Technology

    This module aims to provide you with an overview of the technologies found in a modern audio recording environment. The module will introduce you to audio principles such as signals, acoustics, hearing and digital audio. These principles will be used to develop an understanding of audio technologies found in music production, such as studio spaces, microphones, mixing desks, amplifiers, audio processors and speaker systems.

    Music, Culture and Society

    This module will introduce you to a range of approaches to studying music and music technology. You will develop research, source-handling, evaluation, and critical-thinking skills and apply these to repertoires, cultures, and issues appropriate to your degree course. Linked lectures and seminars will increase your knowledge of key themes and concerns in music studies, give you opportunities to debate your ideas with others, and develop your confidence as an increasingly independent researcher.

    Live Music Production A

    This module introduces you to the live music production industry. You will learn how to use a wide range of equipment and practical use of a wide range of equipment and practical skills for live sound reinforcement. Practical experience of live music production will be gained in a purpose-built environment using analogue mixing consoles, a Public Address (PA) system and range of outboard equipment. You will develop the ability to engineer live music events individually and as part of a team. You will also develop an awareness of the legislation surrounding, and professional practices involved in, live music production.

    Audio Production

    The module introduces you to a range of audio formats and technologies: mobile, online, radio and podcast. You will be provided with the essential recording, editing, studio skills and legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding the production of audio content, and to understand the language and concepts required to critically evaluate audio content. legal frameworks surrounding the production of broadcast material.

    Core modules:

    Desktop Music Production 2

    Building on the skills and knowledge acquired in Desktop Music Production 1 or AFM1208 Technology for Music, this module will provide further study of the techniques of computer-based music production. Techniques examined in-depth will include synthesis, sequencing, sampling, editing, processing and mixing techniques, as well as their creative application. Issues of pre/post production and arrangement will also be explored. You will also continue to study musical arrangement within a computer-based production context. You will explore these topics through practical technical and creative work that will improve your techno-fluency and abilities in detailed critical listening. Seminars will support the application of production techniques and ideas.

    Studio Production and Spatial Recording Techniques

    You will be introduced to advanced concepts, theory and practical use of a broad range of equipment used for recording, editing and mixing sound. You will gain practical experience of sound recording in analogue/digital recording studios, in a concert hall and on location. Your ability to edit multitrack audio using advanced post production techniques will be developed, as will the skills required to capture accurate stereo and multichannel recordings in a concert hall environment.

    Production Analysis and Critical Listening for the Sound Engineer

    This module will develop your production analysis and critical listening skills. You will explore ways in which to analyse music productions, investigate differences in sound quality between common studio processors and refine your critical listening and appreciation of music production sonic signatures. The module will explore the affordances of production techniques and equipment and investigate how they helped shaped the music production process.

    Games Audio

    This module will provide a strong understanding of methods for creating, processing and integrating audio into games. You will be able to apply these techniques to a variety of simulated games environments. Generative techniques will be applied to produce music tracks, sound effects associated with objects within games and environmental sound (such as water, wind etc). You will also gain understanding of software commonly used in this area.

    Live Event Audio Visual Systems

    In this module you will build on the Live Music Production Module, broadening out to cover a range of systems and roles undertaken in live events. You will explore digital consoles in detail, focusing on monitor, front of house and broadcast mixing. You will also look at PA system design, developing skills in the application of line array and point source systems. The module also focusses on systems used in live events, with digital audio networks, video and lighting systems all explored in detail. Broadcast streaming systems will also be explored, resulting in you streaming your own event at the end of the module.

    Inside the Music Business

    Inside the Music Business will introduce you to a range of issues relevant to the current music industry, from copyright, contracts and economics through to the role of the media in marketing, reviewing, and representing music. You will explore the production, distribution and revenue models of the global music business and develop the critical and analytical skills to understand these working practices and the ways they relate to your own practice as a musician. On completion of the module, you will have created the assets to represent yourself to industry as a musician and have a digital portfolio of activity related to your chosen aspect of the music industry.

    Industrial Placement

    This module encourages you to reflect on your work-based experiences and your approach to them, and to identify the learning from the experience appropriate for registration in the initial stages of professional institutions. This module will enable you to develop an analytical approach towards identifying work-based learning. It will encourage you to appraise your own performance in the workplace and to take remedial action, where necessary, and it will encourage you to be pro-active in taking advantage of learning opportunities in the workplace.

    Core modules:

    Advanced Music Production and Mastering

    As well as focusing on mastering for peak normalised and loudness normalised environments, you will study advanced concepts, theory and practice of recording and mixing. Whilst considering these processes from a historical context, you will review approaches and techniques at the forefront of modern music production, nurturing individual styles at the same time as emphasising professional sonic standards.

    Music Production Portfolio

    You will produce a portfolio of three music productions showcasing your skills over various genres through research and practice. It will extend your knowledge of music production by encouraging you to research seminal and cutting-edge music producers' work and apply this research to your productions. Throughout the module, you will be given the opportunity to present work that is in progress and receive support and guidance from your tutor(s), peers, and industry professionals.

    Sound for Film

    This module will introduce advanced concepts, theory and practical skills in the use of a broad range of equipment used for recording and mixing sound for Film and Television. The focus will be on Sound Design, Foley, sound effects creation, dialogue syncronisation and editing, track lay, and mixing in Dolby Atmos. Practical experience of location sound recording will be gained and will form an integral part of the module and its assessment. The module will develop abilities in track lay, synchronisation and editing of audio alongside a given video file in a DAW; all essential skills associated with advanced post-production editing and mixing techniques. Discussions of the theoretical, philosophical and creativity aspects of the area will underpin the module content in lectures and lab sessions.

    Music Industry and Professional Skills

    After an initial lecture and seminar programme covering aspects of professional practice, you will complete a work-related project. Typical work-related projects include: documented placement work (for example, as a classroom assistant in a school; membership, administration or promotion of a non-university music ensemble; assisting in concert management; work as a music copyist and/or editor; music journalism; studio management etc.); researching and building a professional work-related website; releasing music commercially with associated promotion or an industry showcase event . Although there is no requirement for the work-related project to be music-specific, it should provide the student with sufficient opportunity to develop graduate and transferable skills for the workplace and must be agreed with the module leader prior to commencing assessment work.

    Final Year Project

    You will work individually, or in small groups (of normally no more than six), devising, managing, delivering and evaluating your project. You will be assigned an individual tutor, to whom the project proposal is submitted for approval and who is responsible for supporting your independent work through the module, and overseeing the assessment of your project outcomes.

    You’ll be taught through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, tutorials and practical sessions. An average of 22%* of the study time on this course is spent with your tutors (either face to face or online) in lectures, seminars, tutorials etc.

    Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

    Feedback is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

    *based on the course structure for 2025 entry as at December 2023.

    Further information

    The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration. As this is a full-time course, you may have to attend every day of the week.

    Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. Each year you study modules to the value of 120 credits, adding up to 360 credits in total for a bachelor’s qualification. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.

    If you achieve 120 credits for the current stage you are at, you may progress to the next stage of your course, subject to any professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.

    1. The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.

    2. Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    3. We are first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 22 since 2008 (2023 data).

    4. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

    Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

    *full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

    Placements

    This course offers you the chance to undertake an optional placement in Year 3. This opportunity helps you to build on the knowledge and skills developed on the course. You will be employed by the company for 12 months, but the actual number of weeks worked will be dependent on the annual leave entitlement you are given in line with the placement company’s policy.

    The placement year is a valuable tool that can enhance your employability and help you to develop as an individual. It is acknowledged that graduates with industry experience are generally much more attractive to employers.

    Our Placement Unit will be on hand to support you in finding suitable placement opportunities, through timetabled and drop-in sessions as well as by appointment. They will assist you with preparing your CV and with interview techniques. They'll also be in contact with you during your placement so that you'll be fully supported while you gain the experience that employers value so highly.

    The Placement Unit team are regularly in contact with local and national companies. Previously companies such as Dolby, Robannas Studios, Fraunhofer and Vibrations Studios have provided our students with placements. Alternatively, if you are a student from within the UK, you could consider starting your own small business by applying for the Enterprise Placement Year in conjunction with the University’s Enterprise Team. You’ll have the opportunity to benefit from business advice, mentoring and networking sessions.You can find more information on placements here.

    I completed my placement year at Fraunhofer IIS in Germany. Working here allowed me to meet some great people within the industry to expand my professional network. Throughout the placement my work ethic also improved allowing my to really achieve my best in final year. 

    Matt Jefferson

    Matt Jefferson, Fraunhofer IIS

    Student using a Mastering Limiter Compressor
    Students using a 48 channel analogue console
    Immersive Studio capable of 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos
    Bluerooms 1 control room, with an SSL AWS 924
    Classes and workshops taught within the studio
    Mastering Studio with Dynaudio monitors
    7.1.4 Dolby Atmos ready studio with Daws
    Three identical recording studios

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    Important information

    We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

    Changes to a course you have applied for

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

    Cancellation of a course you have applied for

    Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

    Changes to option modules

    Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes

    We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

    For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    Termination of course

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

    Equal opportunities

    The University of Huddersfield is an equal opportunities institution. We aim to create conditions where staff and students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, age, race, caste, class, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, family responsibility, trade union activity, political or religious belief, or age. Please visit our website to see our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

    Data protection

    The University holds personal data on all enquirers, applicants and enrolled students. All such data is kept and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation. The University’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notices are available on the University website.

    Students’ Union membership

    Under the 1994 Education Act, students at all UK universities have the right to join, or not to join, the Students’ Union. There is no membership fee. If you choose not to join you have the right not to be disadvantaged; however, you are not entitled to vote, take part in elections, or hold any office. The following arrangements apply in order that non-Union members are not disadvantaged: Non-members are welcome to take part in the activities of Affiliated Clubs and Societies on payment of the appropriate subscription. However, they may not vote or hold office in the society or club. Union members may be offered a discounted subscription. Non-members are free to use Union facilities on the same basis as members. Welfare, catering and shops are available to non-members as well as members. Union members may be offered a discounted price.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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